OT: Les tribulations d'une caissiere (Anna Sam)
Richard Chambers
would recommend "Les Tribulations d'une Caissiere: 1. Vous etes ouverte?"
by Anna Sam. It is suitable for anybody studying the language at a level
intermediate between "O" and "A" Level. Not available in French from
www.Amazon.co.uk , so I ordered it direct from France ( www.amazon.fr ). The
cost for the version I ordered is 8.96 Euro, plus 6.05 Euro for delivery to
the UK.
Anna Sam obtained a degree in literature from a French university, but I do
not know which one. On leaving the university, she decided on an unusual
career choice, and became a check-out girl at a supermarket. She is
evidently an avid people-watcher, and her work at the supermarket gave her
ample opportunity. Her book compiles her various anecdotes about the people
she came across while working at the tills. It has become a best-seller in
France, and recently the English translation has been reviewed by The Daily
Telegraph (London). I have not read this review -- my only knowledge of that
review is what my wife has told me about it.
One of the reviews on www.amazon.co.uk criticises the English translation,
asserting that it is a pedestrian word-for-word attempt. That was sufficient
to put me off buying the translation, because I prefer a free translation,
concept-for-concept, in free-flowing English. For this reason, I decided to
buy the French original.
The one I bought was the comic-strip version, 40 pages long. Very funny, and
an entertaining way to improve your French. I needed to look up only about a
dozen or so words, and I finished the book in about 2 hours. The French was
simple, and the cartoon strip was an excellent aid to understanding.
Checking back on www.amazon.fr , they no longer seem to be offering it. I
hope that I have not taken their last copy. I recommend it if they re-stock
the comic-strip version.
Amazon in Britain does offer the full version of "Les tribulations" in
French, 190 pages of text, at �19.62 + �0.19 sourcing fee, plus postage.
This will be my next purchase. Has anybody read this version yet?
Richard Chambers Leeds UK.
viv midlane
> in French, 190 pages of text, at #19.62 + #0.19 sourcing fee, plus
> postage. This will be my next purchase. Has anybody read this version
> yet?
>
I read a reivew of this a few weeks ago, and thought it sounded really
interesting - hadn't occured to me what a deadly job working on the
checkout might be.
DC
--
John Dunlop
> For those learning (or trying to maintain their knowledge of) French, I
> would recommend "Les Tribulations d'une Caissiere: 1. Vous etes
> ouverte?" by Anna Sam. It is suitable for anybody studying the language
> at a level intermediate between "O" and "A" Level. Not available in
> French from www.Amazon.co.uk , so I ordered it direct from France (
> www.amazon.fr ). The cost for the version I ordered is 8.96 Euro, plus
> 6.05 Euro for delivery to the UK.
[...]
Thank you for the recommendation.
> Amazon in Britain does offer the full version of "Les tribulations" in
> French, 190 pages of text, at £19.62 + £0.19 sourcing fee, plus
> postage. This will be my next purchase. Has anybody read this version
> yet?
I've just ordered a used copy of the full version from amazon.fr for 3.40
euros plus 5.99 for delivery to the UK. I see amazon.fr also sell it new.
--
John
tsuidf
> I read a reivew of this a few weeks ago, and thought it sounded really
> interesting - hadn't occured to me what a deadly job working on the
> checkout might be.
How could it NOT occur to one...? Did you have no such menial job in
the retail trade during your formative years? I had a couple of
highly motivational experiences in similar environments -- one a truck
stop, another a card shop -- and feel certain they helped me continue
my studies, through sheer terror of having to do more of same.
cheers,
Stephanie
Cheryl
It's astonishing how many people feel completely free to take out their
bad temper on some hapless cashier. And then there's the advice I got in
one training session (for work as a bank teller): "If you don't
understand a transaction, don't carry it out. A lot of people will try
to steal from you, and you have to cover any losses."
--
Cheryl
Roland Hutchinson
What's a sourcing fee?
--
Roland Hutchinson
He calls himself "the Garden State's leading violist da gamba,"
... comparable to being ruler of an exceptionally small duchy.
--Newark (NJ) Star Ledger ( http://tinyurl.com/RolandIsNJ )
John Varela
At age 17 I spent a couple of weeks at Christmas time working behind
the counter (no self service in those days) of the men's department
of a major department store. There was this really cute, perky girl
working at a nearby counter. I was motivated, but not to study.
--
John Varela
Trade NEWlamps for OLDlamps for email
Roland Hutchinson
Didn't they make a TV show about that...?
Chuck Riggs
wrote:
Motivated? Hah, it sounds like you were aroused. "Very cute" helped,
but "perky" was the real giveaway.
--
Regards,
Chuck Riggs,
An American who lives near Dublin, Ireland and usually spells in BrE